Alamo Car Rental

Absolute terrible service. I arrived at the airport, noone was there, had to call and they pretended that they could not honor the reservation because we were an hour late. Obviously we do not control aircraft delays… After insisting and inquiring the truth was that they had overbooked so much that three days later they still had no cars at none of their locations. A complete scam and a waste of hours of my time. When in Mexico take a cab or bus.

They lied to us! Don’t rent car here! They will change your drop-​off address on your contract and try to charge you more money! And you can never «talk» to them!

Ok, hay varios puntos a revisar antes de rentar un coche, lo primero de lo primero, NUNCA pagues el total de tu renta por internet, porque puede que no te respeten tu reserva y te den un coche de menor costo al que habías reservado y no te devolverán tu dinero, es mejor rentarlo por internet, pero pagar un porcentaje nada más.
Otra cosa, debes estar consciente que te harán un cobro a tu tarjeta de crédito de una buena cantidad en garantía por si le llega a pasar algo al coche mientras tu lo traes.
Siempre el precio del coche será diferente a la que en realidad te saldrá, por aquello de los seguros, es importante que rentes un seguro, pero no rentes el más caro, si no, te saldrá en un ojo de la cara.
Cuando vayas a rentar, fíjate en el coche que estás recibiendo, con todo y raspones, golpes, abolladuras y cualquier detallito, para que no te lo vayan a cobrar a ti.
Y por último, siempre trae contigo el número de donde rentaste el coche, nunca sabes cuándo lo irás a necesitar.
Álamo está en todo el mundo, así que es una empresa fiable, ¡buen viaje!

After doing thorough research (see tips below), this was my first time renting a car in Mexico, and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. All of the staff was welcoming and friendly. I reserved my car online in advance and selected a mid-​size automatic with Primary Liability Insurance added. When we landed at the airport, there was an agent waiting with a sign with my name on it and he helped us with our bags and showed us right to the shuttle. I felt SUPER important and cared about. Once at the rental location, we went through the necessary paperwork and our car was brought around. The agent spoke good English and she never tried to upsell me or confuse me. She was very helpful with any questions I had.
Upon returning the car, the staff was equally as friendly. We were staying our final night at Hotel Hacienda Inn just up the street, and Alamo was kind enough to shuttle us back to our hotel.
If renting a car in Merida, I highly recommend Alamo. It was the cheapest and most straight forward rate I could find during my search, and I was absolutely blown away by the service provided.
For Americans to successfully and safely rent and drive a car in Mexico, you need to:
1. Have a credit card with at least a $ 5,000-$ 10,000 limit. You will use this card to PAY for the rental itself, and this will be used for a damage HOLD until you return the vehicle unscathed. They will refund this money immediately and provide a record of this when you return the car. They are putting a damage hold on your card because you are declining LDW (see below) and opting to use your credit card’s collision coverage.
2a. Call your credit card company and confirm their policy for foreign car rentals, as there are some exclusions: IE luxury vehicles and even some off-​road vehicles — get the specifics. Also, know that the coverage your credit card company is providing is COLLISION coverage, not liability (you DO have to pay for liability coverage in Mexico, see below). Ask for them to email you a sample of the policy. Ask about deductibles in case of a wreck. Ask for a phone number to call in case of a wreck. Ask if this phone number has a bilingual agent to assist you and the local police. I used my American Express and the agents were very helpful with my questions.
VERY IMPORTANT: When using a credit card’s collision insurance for a Mexican car rental you MUST DECLINE the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW). Do not let anyone in Mexico trick you in to not signing this, otherwise the car rental company’s collision policy may override your credit card’s. SIGN that you DECLINE LDW. If you get in a wreck, YES this means that hold on your credit card (see above) will become an actual charge. HOWEVER, since your credit card company is providing collision coverage on your rental vehicle, after investigation and restitution, they will pay you back for the damage charges.
2b. Before you hang up with your credit card company, make sure you get transferred to the department where you tell them you will be traveling internationally and they will pre-​authorize purchases made on your card from a foreign country. If you don’t tell them, they may flag a car rental charge from Mexico as fraudulent, and then your card will get denied.
2c. One more thing before you hang up with your credit card company: Ask about the exchange rate and the international fees. Amex charged me 3% of all purchases in Mexico. Capitol One cards have 0% international fees, but may not have as good of rental coverage.
3. Cool! Now you’re ready to actually rent the car and you’ve got all the details about collision coverage on your rental vehicle. When you book online, you must SPECIFICALLY check a box or make a selection that you DO want to purchase Primary Liability Insurance (PLI). This is usually about $ 15/​day. This is the only insurance required in Mexico and they won’t let you drive away without it. Do NOT assume this comes with the rental rate. Both Fox Rental and Alamo have very clear options during online booking that allows you to select PLI.
4. Print out your reservation confirmation that includes your car selection, PLI selection as well as your quoted price. If you don’t want any car upgrades, you’ll not need to do anything once you get to the rental counter other than sign the papers and get the keys. The rental amount on the invoice should be identical (within a few cents because remember there is an exchange rate at play) to what you agreed to pay online.
5. Upon getting your car, check all over the vehicle for any scratches or small dents. Point out and document even the most minor of detail to avoid getting blamed and charged for it upon return.